Enlighten Teeth Whitening Treatment

Apologies for not posting on
here in nearly three months – however I’ll save that for another post. Today I’m
going to share with you how I’ve finally managed to achieve a white smile all
thanks to the team at Sedgefield Dental Practice and Enlighten. As there is so
much to go through, I think this will be split into two posts – however I could
not be happier with the results. The treatment itself works by increasing the
tooth’s permeability to oxygen which breaks down stain molecules. It’s always
been an old wives tale that when you undergo teeth whitening treatments you
have to avoid certain foods (such as pasta sauce, curry, tomato based products)
and not drink red wine/tea/coffee/coke – Enlighten is a revolutionary treatment
which means that while you are undergoing the treatment you can still eat and
drink what you like.

Honestly the team made me feel
so welcome, from Sarah telling me about her experience with Enlighten (serious
teeth envy), to Lena and to Chris the Dentist. The whole team were so friendly
and answered any questions which I had, but unlike my own personal dentist,
Chris went into so much detail about why this form of teeth whitening is better
than anything on the market. On my first visit, Chris went through the
Enlighten programme and what would be expected. Chris also checked my teeth to
make sure that they were in the best condition prior to starting the treatment
so I would get the optimum result. As part of the Enlighten programme the aim
is to get your teeth to at least B1 shade and in order to physically see your
before and after. My teeth were matched at a D2 which is the fourth whitest
shade – something which I was very shocked about.

I then had moulds taken of my
teeth ready for my gum shields to be made as well as provided with a tube of
their tooth serum to replace my normal toothpaste until my next appointment.
The toothpaste is there to prepare your teeth for bleaching as approximately
20% of people can suffer some sensitivity. Chris explained that this percentage
is reduced if you get the treatment done in the warmer months, as the air temperature
can contribute to sensitivity (basically in winter you’d be more prone). I can
confirm that I suffered from no sensitivity when going through this treatment.

The key to this treatment is
that everything is time defined and it’s wise to book all of your appointments
together after your first appointment. When you receive your moulds of your
teeth (mine took two weeks) and are ready to start the treatment, you will need
to book your next appointment for two weeks later for the final treatment. As I
was unable to get the time off work, I had 17 days between starting the
treatment and the final treatment – Chris explained that this was fine. As you
can see above in the box you receive your gum shields, some desensitising
swabs, and two syringes with two different strength gels in them.

As Chris and Lena were showing
me the kit and how much product to use in the gum shields, Chris painted my
teeth with another desensitising gel as I was starting the treatment that
night. For the first week you are to use the 10% solution on your teeth (clear
gel) and then for the second week to use the 16% (green gel). There is no
difference apart from the strength of the solution, the reason why they are
different colours is so you can tell which is which. You need to keep these in
the fridge, however I found that it was hard to get the solution out if you
used the syringe straight from the fridge. Personally I would recommend taking
the syringe out half hour before using – this was you’re not wasting any
product.

For the last session you need
to take your gum shields with you, and I received a curtesy call reminding me
to bring them which shows how the practice goes the extra mile in terms of
customer service. Now after doing some before and after shots with the home
treatment – I personally felt like I didn’t see a difference, however the tooth
guide suggested otherwise (I’ll leave it until my next post to tell you what
shade my teeth went too). However as Lena stated that as I see my teeth on a
daily basis, I wouldn’t be able to see a difference. Now at the last session, this is where the
magic happens thanks to the concentration of the bleach which they use on the
last two twenty minute treatments. While you’re sat with the trays in your
mouth, you do have a tube in your mouth which sucks all the salvia out your
month (attractive I know).

Forty minutes later and it was time for the grand reveal and I was
shocked at the outcome – my teeth were white and I mean gleaming white. Again I’m
not going to tell you what shade I was until the next post, however my teeth
are still as white as they were on that final session. I’m using the treatment
once a month as recommended by Chris and using their Evo-White toothpaste to
maintain my white teeth. All in all I am thrilled with how white my teeth are
and I can’t thank Chris and Lena enough for what they have done.

If you are in the North East
and are looking for an amazing dentist, I can’t rave about Sedgefield DentalPractice enough. The practice also has a range of cosmetic treatments too and further
information can be found on their website. Make sure you check back for my
diary post which I did during the treatment.